Noida: Police nab suspect for ‘provocative’ video on UP CM Yogi Adityanath

The Gautam Budh Nagar police have arrested a man for allegedly posting an allegedly “provocative” and ”misleading” video on X, targeting Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath, police said on Tuesday.

The suspect, identified as Sheikh Ataul (40), a resident of Delhi who hails from Malda, West Bengal, was apprehended near Sector 37 bus stand in Noida.

Police recovered a .315 bore countrymade pistol with live ammunition, a knife, a mobile phone, and objectionable photographs from his possession.

Police said a complaint was lodged on December 16 by the Gautam Budh Nagar media cell after the purported video clip surfaced on X. The purported video allegedly contained incendiary statements, including false claims about Adityanath allegedly ”destroying mosques”, police said, adding that the video was designed to disrupt communal harmony, provoke unrest, and damage the peace and integrity of the country.

“The suspect deliberately posted inflammatory and false content on social media, aiming to disturb communal harmony and provoke violence against a national leader. After the video came to the fore, a police team was tasked with finding the culprit and he was nabbed from Sector 37. We have recovered arms and objectionable materials from his possession,” said Manish Kumar Mishra,additional deputy commissioner of police.

During interrogation, Ataul revealed that he originally hailed from a village near the India-Bangladesh border in Malda and later settled in Delhi’s Shaheen Bagh. He confessed to making the inflammatory video, police said.

Gautam Budh Nagar police said Ataul has no prior criminal record. Investigations are ongoing to determine whether he is part of a larger network, said police.

“The accused has been booked in two cases—under Sections 55 (abetment of offence), 152 (acts endangering sovereignty unity and integrity of India), 196 (promoting enmity between different groups), 353(2) (statements conducive to public mischief), among others and relevant section of IT Act,” said MIshra.